`A Dog`s Life` Has A New Meaning

Dallas, a once-abused Doberman pinscher, features in one of the happy endings from Pet Rescue Inc., a non-profit adoption service for homeless and mistreated dogs and cats.

About two years ago, Dallas was abandoned inside a vacant home and trapped for about a month, said Pet Rescue volunteer Monica French of Hollywood.

When the dog finally broke out of the home, she weighed 18 pounds and was sick from swallowing whole chicken bones, French said.

These days, Dallas weighs 60 pounds and is quite happy and healthy, said French, who adopted the dog.

In addition to Dallas, Pet Rescue has placed about 2,000 dogs and cats in the past two years, said Gardnar Mulloy, vice president of the organization.

But until recently, finding a suitable place to shelter the animals had been a problem, he said.

Now, the dogs and cats have a new temporary home -- a three-bedroom house with a fenced-in backyard at 3440 NW 191st St., in an unincorporated area of Dade County, just south of the Broward County line.

``This place has a pine forest. It`s cool and lovely. The dogs are having a ball. The first day they were exhausted -- they had so much exploring to do,`` she said Jan Harvey of Hollywood, secretary-treasurer of Pet Rescue Inc.

The dogs are not kept in cages, she said, and have free access to indoor and outdoor areas.

Those interested in adopting an animal or volunteering to help the organization may call 922-0102 in Broward County. The organization requests a donation, usually between $30 and $100, from those adopting an animal, Mulloy said.